What's for Dinner? Meal Planning Made Easy

Do you ever have the blank state when someone in your family asks you "what's for dinner?" Or are you spending an insane amount of money on Pizza, Fast Food or Restaurants?

This is one area where I have struggled in the past.  I then came up with a great system to make meal planning so much easier for me and my family.  I wanted to share it with you and hopefully you might be able to gleam some helpful tips!  If you could save just a few dollars on your food category that is is something that you can add towards your goal of early retirement, plus improve your health in the process.

Meal planning is personal to each individual and family, whether you are on a restricted diet, or receive special foods through a program like NutraSystem or Blue Apron. This system can work for you no matter what your preferences. My meal plan has changed over the years, and continues to change as my son's taste change.  I was diagnosed with Cancer in 2013 and while on chemotherapy found that my taste change drastically.  They are slowly getting back to normal now, but I have continued to adjust what I eat.

In order to plan meals for my family, I took the time to write out approximately 20-30 meals that we like to eat (and yes, this even included a few of the restaurants where we like to eat).  I wrote each meal on a little Post-It note that fits on my calendar.  I like to color code things, so I used different colored post-its.  For fish I used Blue post-its, for chicken Yellow, Red Meat is Pink, Other meats like Pork or Turkey is Orange, Green for Vegetarian, and Purple for eating out.  This color coding allows me to glance at my calendar to see if we are eating too much red meat, or not enough fish in our diets.

Next I placed the meals on each day of the month, this would allow me to look at what is happening each day on the calendar and make adjustments.  Plans change and that is OK because I can easily move the post-it notes around.  For example, if I find a sale at the store, or have some vegetables in the fridge that I need to use up, I can look for meals that cover those items and move them into the current weeks rotation.

Now here is the HUGE timer saver that I discovered; are you ready for it?  Once you finish the meal, skip ahead a few weeks and find a new date to place the post-it!  each time you finish a meal you do this, and you will NEVER have to do meal planning again.  Sure you might add a new dish from time to time, or remove something your family doesn't like, but over 80% of our meals we eat over and over.

So are you ready to NEVER have to spend hours agonizing over what's for dinner?

Here it is broken down into simple steps:

STEP 1: Brainstorm 20-30 meals that you and your family like to eat (this can include eating out)
STEP 2: Write them down on post-its that fit on your calendar (you can color code this is you want)
STEP 3: Move the meals around as necessary
STEP 4: When you finish a meal, move the post-it ahead a few weeks to a new date!

There you have it, you can do this and benefits: LESS money spent on wasted food and eating out, NO more agonizing over what is for dinner, and LESS processed food and junk food so LESS inches around your waistline!

What about Healthcare?

In making the decision to retire early, one of our primary concerns was the area of healthcare.  Both Mr. Breeze and I have Pre-existing conditions.  I am curious to see how health care reform starts to change over the course of  5 years.

In fact I have added a new section titled Health.  This is an area where I will post about healthcare, what we find, and changing to living a healthier lifestyle (recipes, activities, who knows I might even track our weight goals on line.).

So we decided to buy through the exchange but unfortunately with leaving our jobs and income it was confusing to fill out the paperwork.  We tried to make phone calls, and had our forms reentered but found out that we were applying for aid (i.e. welfare).  That is not what we wanted.

I ended up panicking, and decided to purchase directly from the insurance company as I was afraid to go without coverage for myself, and my family.  We chose Humana as they were one of the best for the medications we were on and I liked the options.  By going direct to the insurance company we are not on the exchange (although our plan is considered a Bronze plan through the Affordable Care Act); therefore, we are not eligible for the subsidies.

So what is insurance costing us:

Well for our family of 3, we have a monthly premium of about $885 a month.  We are not eligible for the subsidy, however, if our healthcare expenses exceed 10% of our income and this includes the Premiums that we are paying, we can deduct medical expenses from our tax liability.  This may or may not be better for us in the long run, we will see what our income ends up looking like after 2016.  We may try to get on the exchange plan for 2017, but for now we are happy to have insurance.

Oh and because neither of us are "working" we were also eligible for medicaid cards, so we are using that as a secondary insurance - this will only help us to reduce our deductible. Speaking of the deductible, we have a family deductible of $12,500.  While I hope we will never reach that amount, if for some reason we have a large medical event, such as a hospital stay, then I know our cap will be our premiums plus the $12,500.  Long term this is a expensive option, but it is affordable today, as we are learning.

So to have insurance for 2016, we are paying:
$885 x 11 (we were covered in January)
And an out of pocket deductible of up to: $12,500
Total potential healthcare expenses for 2016: $22,235

So if our 2016 income is below $222k we should meet the 10% medical deduction for 2016.

The only thing I wish I had done differently, was read Root of Goods post on the Pitfall and Subsidies of the Affordable care act!  Unfortunately I had to make my decision before he posted this, and didn't have the luxury of time (I was leaving my job, moving across the country, and stepping up a new home!).  Oh well, lessons learned and maybe we will do better next year!

Finding Your Way Home

It has been almost 2 months since I left the rat race of the working world.  And while I don't feel like I have all the time in the world (something that working full time made me feel like I would have if I quit).  I do find myself with time to be creative, learn, and breath.

One area that I have been focusing on, is definitely spending more time with Baby Breeze and Mr. Breeze.  We have taken advantage of warm days, lazy afternoons at the park.  Another area for myself, is reading and learning new thoughts and ideas.

Recently I picked up a book at our local library:

Finding Your Way Home: How to Become a Successful Stay-At-Home Parent, by Lucynda Koesters. 

This book would have been a great read, about a year or two ago, as I was developing my plan to stay at home.  That being said, I did gleam some great tips from this book.

In the first section Ms. Koesters focuses on reason why it is important for a parent to be at home, whether your child(ren) is an infant, toddler, gradeschooler, or teen. We know it is important for parents to bond with their child when they are infant or toddlers, but it is just as crucial to have a parent at home when they are in school and hitting their teenage years.  I love the idea that as my child goes to school, this will give me a chance to volunteer and get to know his friends, and to know that he will not be one of the many latch key kids who spend hours every afternoon unsupervised.  Most juvenile crimes happen between 3 PM and 6 PM and no wonder, a child needs guidance and a safe harbor to come home to.  Plus if you want to find out about your child's day you need to be there within the first 30 minutes - before they begin to focus on other things and the answer is "fine."

The second section of the book focuses on courage building strategies to find your way home.  While I have already made the jump to early retirement, I did enjoy her approach to visualizing what your day would look like.  She goes through weighing your options and examining your finances.  It is amazing how much of our income goes to be prepared for our jobs - clothing, parking, gas, daycare, convenience items such as fast food, guilt presents, etc.  As you eliminate these it is amazing how little we really bring home from out incomes.  She has some great money savings tips and strategies to talk to your spouse and employer.

What really hit home with me, was Part III - Transitional Strategies to a successful life at home.  This was full of great advice for me.  It is OKAY for me to slow down, and it might take me a while to learn how to do that.  I was shocked when I found myself looking at job opportunities within a month of being home.  This apparently is very common, and it is just because the reality of slowing down (and not receiving a paycheck for the first time in my adult life) was quite a shock.  I am now trying to focus on just being present at home and enjoying the peace that comes with it.  I also thought I would be able to start saving so much money now that I am at home, but found we were eating out more, and spending more on little things, as I now had more time to shop.  Realizing these things was a critical factor for me (and I will be writing more about this area in the future).

Establish a weekly routine is the next suggestion, but go SLOWLY!  Hard advice to take for someone who just exited the crazy rat race.  One of the areas that I am currently following is to set up BLOCKS of time.  For example:

7 AM to 9 AM get up, breakfast, and get dressed
9 to 11:30 AM errands or fun activities
11:30 - 12:30 Lunch
12:30 - 2:30 PM nap/quiet time
2:30 - 4:30 PM activities, outdoor time
4:30 - 6:30 PM make, eat, clean up dinner
6:30 - 8 PM - family time, games, movie, activities
8 - 9 PM - bath, story, and light out at 9 PM

This helps us to accomplish more during our day, without over structuring the time.  We might decide it is nice out and go to the park, or maybe it is cold and we bake cookies, or there might be something fun going on at the library so we go there!  It is also easy to know when to schedule appointments, play dates, and when to be able to say No!

Stay flexible!  Now is not the time to become rigid in a new routine, as that will only cause me the stress I am trying to get away from.

The book was published in 2005, so some of the information is a little dated, but overall this was a great read for anyone who is considering retiring early, especially to be home with their children.

I am thrilled to say, I found my way home!  

Early Retirement - Snow Day

It finally hit me today, what early retirement can truly do for the mind and the spirit.

We are having a snow day here in Colorado.  This morning I was listening to the news mention all the closed schools.  I was thinking about all the parents who now have to arrange baby sitters or call in to work in order to take the day off and make last minute arrangements for assignments, meetings, and calls.

What does an early retired parent do . . .

Well our morning went like this:
- Warm bacon and eggs for breakfast
- Puzzles and working on our letters
- Reading books in front of the fire under a cozy blanket
- Walking the dog in the snow
- And we are now about to have some hot chocolate after nap!!!

Now this is a Snow Day!!!

You can do this, save your income, so that you can enjoy an early retirement lifestyle!

Cancer Journey - When am I normal

I cannot believe it has been two years since I finished my cancer treatments.  I remember when completed my final radiation therapy, everyone around me wanted to celebrate and I want to hide in a closet.

When I was going through treatments it was if I was doing something to get rid of the cancer and prevent it from returning.  Once the treatments were over I began feeling exposed.  All those feelings of - why me?  if I don't eat right will it come back?  if I don't get enough sleep will it come back?  when will it come back?  am I really cancer free?  am I really a Survivor?

Even now two years later I find it difficult to say I am cancer free or that I am a Survivor of Cancer. In the back of my mind, there is always a tingling reminder of it is not if it comes back but when.  Dealing with all this anxiety, along with the side effects of my medications, and the long term effects of Chemo really pushed me over the edge.

I found myself snapping at my family, and not able to concentrate.  Christmas of 2014, my husband tried to get me in the car with him and my son to go look at Christmas lights [one of my favorite things to do] and even that I could not find interest in.  It was at that point that I realized I was going to need more help.

Usually I find natural ways to cure and heal myself (diet, exercise) can really do so much, but sometimes we get to a point where we need additional help.  I finally agreed with my doctor to take Effexor, which is an anti-depressant, often given to cancer patients.  After a few weeks I noticed that I was able to concentrate better, was not snapping as my family, and it was even helpful with the hot flashes and anxiety that I was suffering from.  Okay, I wish I had not waited so long to ask for help.

Today two years after my final treatments, I find myself finally accepting my new normal.  I still have no feeling in my left armpit, and I struggle with some effects from the treatments.  But I am setting new goals for myself, and learning to enjoy each day again.  I am getting outside every day (and training for my first 5k - hey I have to start somewhere!).

Am I normal? . . . I know I am not the same as I was before Cancer, but I am finally becoming happy with "me" and who I am today.

If you are someone going through the cancer journey, or are trying to support someone, know that the healing process takes a LONG time, and just because treatments are over, doesn't mean that the journey of healing is over.

Precious Moments

When I look at my son, I see the world through his fresh new eyes.  Everything is something to be explored and pondered.

This past weekend we got hit with the massive storm that came across the United States.  It gave us enough to go sledding.  It was hysterical trying to get all of us in snow pants, boots, warm jackets, gloves, mittens and hats.  By the time we were done, poor Baby Breeze resembled "Ralphie's little brother" from the Christmas Story.

I cannot believe the love and joy that comes from being able to watch him experience things for the first time.  I am thrilled that I now have this time to spend with my little guy and cannot wait to see where our adventures take us next.

We Did It - The Jump to Early Retirement

It has been over a year since I have posted in this wonderful blog, and I am sorry to all my loyal followers.   I will say that recovering from Cancer hit me harder than I could have ever imagined.  Health is something we take for granted until we lose it, so my family and I have made some life changes that I hope will be beneficial.

Brief summary of what has happened over the last year:

- We decided that we could find a way to manage our income and investments, and I made the jump into retirement.  That being said I did take on a part time job that allows me to mentor and help others, but this is more about my passion that an income.
- Mr. Breeze went back to school for his Master's - so honestly we are both home right now as he completes his online masters.
- Last month we moved from the mid-west to sunny Colorado.  This puts us closer to my family, and well Colorado is a MUCH more active state than where we lived, so now we are enjoying the sunshine and getting active - which is another step in the right direction for my health.
- Baby Breeze is now 3 and every 30 seconds goes from being cute and adorable, to funny and entertaining, to exhausting, to an emotional terror.  It is so nice that both of us can be home with him at this time.

So that is the brief update of the last CRAZY year!  We are terrified and excited about our new adventure, and I love that I have other Blogs that I can read from those who has paved the path before me.  I look forward to share with you what challenges and opportunities we experience as we enjoy this new found freedom of Early Retirement (FYI - my goal was to do it by 40, but I just had my 38th birthday and I am so glad I didn't wait)!

Here's to new adventures.

The Breeze Family